The Riddle That Remembers

Lyle didn't return to his dorm immediately.

The crowd had dispersed after the match—slowly, cautiously, as though uncertain whether they'd just witnessed a miracle or a warning.

Even Juno had gone quiet.

She gave him a look before leaving the arena.

One part pride.

One part concern.

And something deeper he couldn't name yet.

He stood alone beneath the fading light of the mana-laced arena wards, his Codex humming against his chest like a second heartbeat.

And then—without warning—

It opened.

---

Not in his hands.

Not by will.

It flipped itself open mid-air, pages fluttering until they landed on one stained with shadowed ink.

Not glyphs.

Not text.

But shapes.

Symbols he hadn't seen since Quinn's realm.

Curved like fangs.

Sharp like runes.

One line glowed beneath them:

> "I was born when you lied. I grow when you win.

You'll kill me if you fail.

What am I?"

Lyle stared at it, pulse quickening.

A riddle.

But not just any riddle.

He'd seen this one before—in one of the dreams he couldn't fully remember.

And now it was back.

---

He sat cross-legged in the shadows of the observation pillars and focused.

The Codex pulsed again.

> [Memory Thread Recall – Dream Anchor: Activated]

Processing latent subconscious memory…

Linking riddle to stored echo…

The shadows shifted.

Lyle's eyes glazed, and his mind dropped back.

---

It wasn't quite a dream.

More like a recording, taken from behind someone else's eyes.

In it, he stood in a room of endless mirrors.

Each one held a version of himself.

Smiling.

Bleeding.

Dead.

Or... watching.

And one—just one—whispered the answer.

> "I am your Legend."

---

Lyle snapped back into the present, breath sharp.

The Codex shimmered.

The riddle vanished.

And the page rewrote itself:

> [Codex Upgrade: Legend Thread Unlocked]

Effect: Allows manipulation of combat narrative threads.

Can alter perception of success or failure in the eyes of observers.

Passive Effect: False Victory Aura – Your wins carry greater myth-weight, inspiring or intimidating others depending on disposition.

Lyle blinked.

"What…?"

---

> [You have unlocked: Narrative Pressure System]

He didn't understand all of it yet.

But the implications were massive.

If this worked the way it sounded, he could control how others experienced his actions. Whether they saw him as unstoppable—or unremarkable.

It was power.

But power of perception.

And in a world where systems watched systems?

That was just as dangerous.

---

He stood and headed back toward his dorm.

The Codex sealed itself once again, the symbols fading beneath his coat.

But the unease didn't fade.

Because this hadn't come from his system naturally.

Someone had planted it.

Someone who knew his dreams.

And he had a pretty good idea who.

---

Meanwhile, across the academy in a chamber lined with pulse-crystals, Juno sat before a semi-circle of robed instructors.

Each bore a different emblem of her clan—Ravyn insignias, etched in blade, frost, and smoke.

Her mentor, Elder Tae, looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"You've bonded yourself to a threadlinked deviant," he said.

"Unwillingly," Juno answered. "I didn't initiate it."

"Yet you haven't severed it."

"Because I don't know how."

"You haven't tried."

She didn't answer.

He stepped closer.

"Juno. You are one of our last blades. Your mind is a fortress. Your will is your sword. But that boy… he's rewriting what you are."

"No," she said calmly.

"He's rewriting what we're allowed to become."

---

Silence followed.

A long, dangerous silence.

Then Tae stepped back and nodded once.

"You have five days."

"For what?"

"To prove that this bond strengthens you."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then we will sever it for you."

"And what if I resist?"

He didn't answer.

But the other elders stood.

The meeting was over.

And the threat?

Very, very real.

---

Back in his dorm, Lyle stared at the obsidian shard left behind by the Mirrorborn.

It had started glowing again.

Dimly.

Not a gate.

Not a warning.

But a pulse.

He touched it.

> [Codex Message – Origin: Unknown]

"The one you spared is watching."

"The one who waits will not."

"Choose before the mask chooses for you."

Lyle's hand clenched around the shard.

Because he knew what came next.

The next round of the tournament wasn't just about power.

It was about influence.

And the mirrors were no longer content to show reflections.

They wanted to make decisions.